Brief History

The "Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio" was founded by Walt and his brother Roy on 16th-

October-1923, in California, currently named as The Walt Disney Company. When Walt was

working for "Kansas City Film Ad Company” he became interested in hand drawn animation.

He started drawing cartoons for newspapers when he was young. He struck an agreement in

1923 after Walt's "Laugh-O-Gram Studio" was in bankruptcy, to direct six more short films

which included "Alice's Wonderland," produced by Laugh-O-Gram. In order to launch the

show, the brothers established a production business and persuaded their Ub Iwerks &

Virginia D. to move to Hollywood.

After Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and the Alice Comedies found success, Disney began work

on his most famous masterpiece.  Mickey Mouse had his public debut in 1928 and now this

cartoon character is ranked among the most famous and well-known in the history. Disney's

studio was able to develop a feature picture thanks to the popularity of the Mickey Mouse

cartoons, and he began production on one in 1934. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was a

huge success when it was released shortly before Christmas 1937, despite the fact that the

project exceeded 400% of the budget and required over 300 animators, illustrators, and

assistants.

In the 1950s, the company began to expand into real - time action films and theme parks after

seeing significant success by the early 1940s. Ever since, Disney Company has produced

several cutting-edge and well-liked films. It has purchased dozens of more companies in the

1990s and 2000s.

Fun Fact:

Theme parks used to be the only source of

income for the Disney Company because it
was being operated so poorly after Walt's
death.
It managed to stay in the top 10 of the firms with the highest reported brand value in 2021

despite these downs and successes. In the same year, Disney Company recorded $67.4 bil in

global sales & about $203 bil in total assets. Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, ESPN,

Pixar & ABC are currently owned and operated by Disney.

Figure 1- Walt Disney in disneyland during the park opening

Started with only two brothers (Walt Disney and Roy Disney) with a determined mindset to

entertain the children in the best possible way and came out with an idea of drawing cartoon

characters frame by frame which was a huge success and it evolved into an animation which

turned over the entire kid’s media industry. Currently Disney has over 8000+ employees

working on new projects with a lot more advanced technology than before.

Audience (Fragmented)
Disney started its evolution by creating cartoon animation for the children entertainment. But

after seeing the response the team started to develop more cartoons which can entertain the

audience in teenagers and families too. Consumers are offered a variety of product categories

offered by the Disney brand make up the target demographic. These include the Disney+

video streaming service, Disney retail and consumer goods, Disney theme parks and

experiences, and Disney movies and TV shows.

Although Disney has a global target audience, America is accountable for the most share of

its revenue. The target of market of Disney is mostly middle-class and lower-class families.

But in the other hand for Disney theme parks ticket prices are higher than comparing to other

theme parks making them move way from this demographic.

Disney has recently started its own on-demand video streaming platform Disney+ to join the

competitors like Netflix and Amazon Prime in December 2019. Disney+ was only introduced

in the Europe countries in the first year after receiving the positive response of the audience it

was available across globally. The Competitive advantage Disney+ had over Netflix and

Amazon Prime was Marvel. Marvel Studious which was bought by Disney in the year 2009

started making superhero series which the audience especially marvel fans got hooked up

into. The series either has a continuation from the movies or has scenes to understand the plot

of the next Marvel movie. This concept of switch between series and blockbuster movies

creating by the Marvel Studios made the entire Marvel Entertainment to a different level of

attraction towards the movie.

According to a Disney demographic segmentation, families are the prime target. Families can

take various forms, including young couples in their twenties, small families with children,

and intergenerational households with grandparents and grandkids.

All age groups and genders are served by Disney, as proven by the wide range of Disney

films, TV shows, goods, parks, and programs. For example, every Disney Park features rides

for individuals of all ages and heights, adult-only clubs, and wheelchair accessible.

Disney's demographics for audience is found worldwide, but Canada & North America has

the largest number of viewers. Operating income in this region is significantly higher than in

Asia, Latin America & Europe.

Disney’s parks and cruises are operating in a number of countries and cater to a worldwide

clientele. In reality, Disney was in the sixth position from the top 10 most visited parks

worldwide in 2020, which are located in Japan, China & USA. Disney+ streaming has

progressively expanded globally since its inception in late 2019, and it is now accessible in

more than 100 countries.

Disney's audience is a large moviegoer; in 2021, Disney had a 25.5% market share and was

the famous film studio in Canada & USA. Sony Columbia, the next-closest rival, held a

23.1% market share. Families in the middle class are the target audience for the Disney parks;

those who make between $50,000 and $74,999 annually are the most interested in visiting

Disneyland. Those with the highest incomes, between $150,000 to $200,000, were the

significantly less likely to visit the park in coming year. People who visit Disney’s theme

parks do be extremely devoted; among first-time visitors, the return rate is 70%.

Fun Facts:

At the box office, 6 Disney films have

surpassed the $1 billion mark, while 2 films
have surpassed the $4 billion mark.
Conglomeration

The Walt Disney Company is a multinational conglomerate based in the United States that

operates also in North & Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Japan. Its economic interests are

centered on mass media and entertainment industry. The conglomerate has divided into four

divisions such as:

1. Media Networks: This industry sector is engaged in radio production,

broadcasting and cables, publication, and digital content, as well as tv production and

streaming media. This sector includes ESPN Inc., the Disney Channel, and the ABC

Television Group. The Walt Disney Company has a significant presence in the

American media landscape when all of the media brands and companies under its

division are taken into account.

2. Parks& Resorts: All companies engaged in leisure and travel for families are

included in this business segment. Building and running tourist attractions

& monuments while using storytelling is the concept underlying this category.

Currently, this section runs three resorts, eleven theme parks, and five high-end

holiday spots spread across the globe. The Disney Cruise Line, which currently sails

four cruise ships, is included in this sector too.

3. Studio Entertainment: This industry sector is made up of companies that produce

stage plays, movies, and music. This division includes specific businesses or affiliates

such as Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, Touchstone pictures and Disney Nature. This

 division also includes Broadway & theatrical productions, particularly under the

umbrella of the Disney Theatrical Group's primary business.

4. Consumer Products and Interactive Media: This industry sector produces and

distributes goods like toys, clothing and publishes books.   The company also

introduced the Disney Interactive sector in 2008 to handle all operations relating to

the online world, such as interactive media and games, in order to profit on the

information era. Walt Disney Company is the biggest media conglomerates

worldwide as a diverse and international mass media company. The company has

worked to further promote the creation of creative contents, which has always been at

the core of its business, by encouraging innovation, leveraging cutting-edge

technology, and entering new markets throughout the world.

 References

Beattie, A. (2020, July 26). Walt Disney: How Entertainment Became an Empire.

Investopedia. [Link]

[Link]

Crowther, B. (2022, August 13). Walt Disney. Britannica.

[Link]

Organimi. (n.d). Disney’s Organizational Structure.

[Link]

Start. (2022, August 25). Disney Target Market – Discover Disney’s Audience

Demographics, Marketing Strategy & Competitors.

[Link]

demographics-marketing-strategy-competitors/